It's not a public holiday (unfortunately), but Tanabata is a very popular tradition, and it happens to be on the 7th of July. The word "tanabata" itself has the same meaning: "the seventh evening". According to the legend, in every year this is the only day when Orihime and Hikoboshi (two lovers) can meet on the two banks of the Milky Way. The full story can be read on wiki, I recommend it, because it's quite good...To celebrate that, people write their wishes on small pieces of paper (called tanzaku), and hang them on young bamboo branches along with some decorations, in a hope that they may come true this way. And then at midnight on the 7th, or on the next day, the papers are set afloat on a river, or burned. To be honest, at a first glance this tradition seems to have as much to do with the above story as the bunny has to do with Easter... :D But at least it shows nicely how much the Japanese like mysticism / fortune telling / wishing and such stuff.Of course my company also got its hands on some bamboo so everyone can make wishes, if they wish to. Although I'm not too convinced about its efficiency, I've also written my piece for the sake of tradition. Of course, I wrote it in Hungarian to let the others get used to the language. :D (Although some people thought it was in English... :D) It may look weird at a first glance, because these things have to be written vertically.

Many of you have asked me to write about Japan, how's my life here, what's happening to me, etc. That's why I've created this blog, here I'll try to share with all of you every important, unimportant, interesting and boring things that I see / hear / experience here.